


What the Past Has Made

by talesofsinsandmonsters



Category: Bleach
Genre: Aizen is an Asshole, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Memory Alteration, Multiple Orgasms, Oral Sex, Polygamy, Rough Sex, multiple OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-12-31 17:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12137832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofsinsandmonsters/pseuds/talesofsinsandmonsters
Summary: Summary In Notes





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Teal eyes widened in shock, "Chiharu? You can't be here, you're meant to be dead!"  
> "So you're another person that knows me? Sorry to disappoint but whoever you knew eleven years ago is gone, erased by my uncle. Guess that means I am dead."  
> "In that case, I'll have to put our past behind. From this moment you're a Ryoka, and I'll have to stop you."  
> -  
> "Urahara, where the hell are my students?" Saki Enomoto narrowed her dark green eyes at the shop keeper, who had a smirk.  
> "I assure you, Enomoto-sensei, I have no clue what you mean."  
> "Don't bullshit me, I know they were here!" The Strings of Fate had led her to this man, and she wanted to know why.  
> -  
> Akane's back hit the wall of the alley hard. A leg forced her thick thighs apart, a rough hand sliding into her pants. The blue haired man smirked, "I can't tell why Ulquiorra was so focused on you, but I certainly see your appeal."  
> "Fuck you."  
> "Don't tempt me, bitch."  
> -  
> "Do you think destroying everything will get us to open the Barrier?" Kensei demanded. Noriko hoisted Jishin onto her shoulder.  
> "But it worked, Muguruma."  
> -  
> Blades clashed. Ichigo stared at he Arrancar woman in front of him. With her light purple hair and sea foam gren eyes, she was beautiful.  
> "Charis! Don't hurt Ichigo!" Nel cried.  
> Instantly, the Arrancar shifted back, sheathing her Zanpakuto. "Fine, Nel, I won't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teal eyes widened in shock, "Chiharu? You can't be here, you're meant to be dead!"  
> "So you're another person that knows me? Sorry to disappoint but whoever you knew eleven years ago is gone, erased by my uncle. Guess that means I am dead."  
> "In that case, I'll have to put our past behind. From this moment you're a Ryoka, and I'll have to stop you."  
> -  
> "Urahara, where the hell are my students?" Saki Enomoto narrowed her dark green eyes at the shop keeper, who had a smirk.  
> "I assure you, Enomoto-sensei, I have no clue what you mean."  
> "Don't bullshit me, I know they were here!" The Strings of Fate had led her to this man, and she wanted to know why.  
> -  
> Akane's back hit the wall of the alley hard. A leg forced her thick thighs apart, a rough hand sliding into her pants. The blue haired man smirked, "I can't tell why Ulquiorra was so focused on you, but I certainly see your appeal."  
> "Fuck you."  
> "Don't tempt me, bitch."  
> -  
> "Do you think destroying everything will get us to open the Barrier?" Kensei demanded. Noriko hoisted Jishin onto her shoulder.  
> "But it worked, Muguruma."  
> -  
> Blades clashed. Ichigo stared at he Arrancar woman in front of him. With her light purple hair and sea foam gren eyes, she was beautiful.  
> "Charis! Don't hurt Ichigo!" Nel cried.  
> Instantly, the Arrancar shifted back, sheathing her Zanpakuto. "Fine, Nel, I won't."

“You got a death wish, pal?! Nobody jumps one of my boys and lives to tell about it!”

“Hmm.”

Chiharu Hideyoshi sighed, watching her best friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, stand in front of a group of thugs. One of them was unconscious on the ground, having already been beaten by the orange haired boy.

“He doesn’t need to do this,” a small voice, slightly behind Chiharu murmured. Chiharu glanced towards it. Hiding behind the pole Chiharu was leaning against, was a young girl, almost as tall as Chiharu herself, who stood at a measly 4’4”. She was transparent, and most of her height was due to the fact that she was hovering five inches off the ground. Chiharu rolled her dark blue eyes and leaned her head back against the pole. Her white-blonde hair glinted in the light of the setting sun.

“Shut up and let him help, kid,” Chiharu replied, crossing her arms, turning her gaze back to her best friend.

The thug was still shouting at Ichigo.

“THAT’S ALL YOU GOT ‘TA SAY?!” he pulled back a fist to hit Ichigo, who delivered a swift kick to the man’s face. When he dropped to the ground, Ichigo brought his foot down anywhere he could. The thug yelped with each connection. Chiharu placed her hands in the pockets of her hooded jacket and stood up straight.

“Boss is down! We have to help him!” One of the lesser thugs cried, before charging. There was a blur of color, and before the thug could take more than a step, he was met with a swift knee in the gut. He let out a wheezing breath as all the air was pushed out of his body from the impact. He hit the ground solidly, and Chiharu stepped on his back, right between his shoulder blades. She looked up at the two remaining thugs.

“I wouldn’t,” she warned quietly, before fixing the pair of chunky headphones around her neck.

“S-should we help?” one thug whimpered.

“Are you crazy? There’s no way I’m taking on either of those psychos!” the other protested.

“Now listen up, you pond scum!” Ichigo snapped, finally through with beating the lead thug into the ground, “Do you see that?!” He pointed at the telephone pole. On the ground at it’s base was a spilled vase of flowers. “First question! What do you think that is? You! The one on the left! Answer!”

“Gah!” The thug on the left flinched. “I guess somebody left those flowers for some kid who got killed here…”

“CORRECT!” Ichigo moved to kick the thug so quickly that the breeze his body created on his way past Chiharu ruffled her skirt. She didn’t seem to care much, picking at her fingernails. “Next question. Why is that vase lying on it’s side?”

“I-I-I guess one of us knocked it over when we were skateboarding by here. We didn’t see it!”

It was Chiharu who delivered the next blow, punching the last standing thug in the chest so hard he stumbled back a good few feet.

“Wow, boys,” she smirked, “you catch on fast.”

Ichigo came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, glaring at the thugs darkly.

“Now go and apologize or next time the flowers will be for you!”

The thugs squealed with terror and ran off, apologizing all the way.

Ichigo instantly softened, going back towards the pole.

“There,” he murmured, “that ought to keep those punks from showing their ugly faces around here,” he smiled at the ghost girl, “sorry about that. I’ll bring you by some new flowers tomorrow.”

“Thank you both for coming to my defense,” the girl smiled slightly, “I think now I’ll finally be able to rest peacefully.”

Chiharu smiled back and knelt to set the vase right again.

“No problem,” she said, standing up, “it’s the least we could do.”

“After all,” Ichigo grabbed Chiharu’s hand and started tugging her away, smiling over his shoulder at the ghost girl, “you deserve to rest in peace!”

The girl watched as the two walked to the end of the street before separating and turning opposite directions. She faded from sight when she could no longer see them, a pleased smile on her young face.

* * *

“I’m home!” Chiharu called, as she strolled into the dark shop, owned by her uncle. She paused when she noticed how quiet it was. “Uncle?”

The sound of air whistling and the glint of metal in the darkness were her only warnings. Chiharu rolled out of the way as Benihime’s sealed form was embedded into the wall where her head had been. When she popped back up, there were two of her, one standing, wearing a Shihakusho, and one crouching on the ground, holding what looked to be a candy dispenser with a cartoon skull on the top. The standing Chiharu held a katana in her hand, the sharpness of the blade evident as it glinted in the moonlight shining in through the windows.

“Ah! So your guard is up!” Kisuke mused, flipping on the lights.

“Uncle!” Chiharu protested, easing up on her stance, but not lowering her blade. He grinned at her, eyes twinkling.

“Oh, Chiru!” he easily wrapped an arm around her, despite the blade, “I taught you so well!”

“Uncle,” Chiharu repeated, closing her eyes in annoyance and sheathing her Zanpakuto, “look what you’ve done.” She broke away from Kisuke and literally threw herself at the wide eyed, shocked version of herself, the force knocking them both over. Within seconds, she sat back up, once again herself, gasping and coughing up the Gikongan Soul Candy. Kisuke grinned again and pulled her up.

“I’d say you’re just about done with your training, Chiru. Just stay out of the sight of other Soul Reapers until I’m positive you’re ready to face your first Hollow.”

Chiharu swallowed thickly. She had learned about Hollows long ago, and they terrified her. She knew Soul Reapers hunted Hollows, that it was one of their main duties, but she had hoped she wouldn’t need to face one for at least another year. But as usual, Kisuke Urahara had other plans.

“Get some sleep, kiddo. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

* * *

“Good morning, Miss Chiharu!” Ururu greeted softly, bowing deeply when a yawning Chiharu came into the small kitchen of the Urahara Household.

“Morning, Ururu,” Chiharu responded, tying her school tie sloppily with one hand and grabbing a piece of toast with the other. Before she ate it, she asked, “Where’s Jinta?”

“He’s still asleep. He wouldn’t wake up when I asked him to help with breakfast.”

There was a slight pause, then Chiharu’s eye twitched and she turned sharply back towards the bedrooms. Ururu listened as Jinta started shouting, followed by several loud thumps. Moments later, Jinta was running into the kitchen, grumbling and nursing the bumps on his head.

“Sorry I didn’t help you with breakfast,” he said grudgingly, “I’ll clean up today.”

“There, Jinta,” Chiharu leaned against the counter, toast still in hand, “was that so hard?”

Jinta grumbled again, looking away. Ururu smiled and turned on the television. It was already on the news station, which was showing footage of what appeared to be the aftermath of an explosion.

“The massive explosion occurred outside of Karakura station just after 7:30 AM as the morning commute was getting into full swing. Witnesses report hearing a loud crash and feeling the ground shake beneath their feet. The area has been cordoned off. Further details are not available at this point in time.”

“Hey, Miss Haru! What’s wrong with you?” Jinta demanded loudly, seeing the look on the older girl’s face. Chiharu shook her head.

“That’s near here,” she replied, “I wouldn’t be as concerned if I thought it was actually an explosion.”

“You think it was a Hollow?” Ururu asked, bringing her knuckles to her lips and resting them there.

“ALRIGHT!” Jinta punched the air, “We finally get to see Miss Haru in action!”

“You idiot!” Chiharu brought her fist down onto Jinta’s head, stopping his excitement, “Hollows are never a good thing! Do you think you can behave long enough for Tessai to wake up? I’m gonna be late for school.”

“Whatever,” Jinta scoffed. Chiharu’s face softened, and she placed her hands gently on both children’s heads.

“Be safe,” she told them.

Jinta’s scowl turned into a smile, “You too, Miss Haru. Have a good day at school! We’ll see you when you get back, okay?”

“Yep yep!” Chiharu waved a hand at them before slipping out the front door, picking her bag up as she did.

* * *

She met Ichigo in the same place they’d parted the day before. He knocked his knuckles gently on her forehead.

“Morning, Runt- ooph!” he received a blow to the stomach for the nickname. He rubbed the tender spot, grinning, “Did you hear about the explosion?” He gestured behind him, where the police tape blocked the entrances to Karakura station.

“I heard about it. Hey…Where’s the kid?”

They had reached the pole, but the little ghost girl was nowhere to be found.

Ichigo’s eyebrows furrowed. He took a step forward, calling out, “Hello?!”

A loud roaring made Chiharu drop her bag. Her hands were halfway to her ears before she caught herself. She was a Soul Reaper, now. She couldn’t run at the sign of a Hollow anymore.

“Chiharu, let’s go!” Ichigo grabbed her hand and ran. He was running towards the Hollow, however, not away from it. People were running in the other direction, but Ichigo stopped only because a cloud of dust and smoke was blocking his path. The cloud was moved towards them, pushed by air and intense Spiritual Pressure, and Chiharu jumped up to wrap her arms around Ichigo’s head, protecting his eyes.

When it cleared, the gruesome death mask of a Hollow was visible. It roared again.

“What the hell is that?” Ichigo demanded, feeling Chiharu grip his hand tightly. The ghost girl from the day earlier suddenly ran by them, crying for help. “Run!” Ichigo shouted, yanking Chiharu after the girl.

“What is that thing?!” The girl asked.

“I don’t know!”

The girl suddenly tripped, landing face first on the ground. Ichigo stopped to help her up, so Chiharu took the opportunity to start searching for her Gikongan Soul Candy. It was no use. The dispenser was in her bag, and she’d dropped it.

“Crap,” Chiharu turned her attention back to the Hollow, and saw it was about to step on Ichigo and the ghost girl. Chiharu gasped and ran forward. “Ichigo!”

He didn’t have the time to move. Chiharu grabbed him by the arm and tugged him away, just as a black butterfly flew past their noses. Right before their eyes, the butterfly became a woman. Not just any woman. A Soul Reaper. She unsheathed her Zanpakuto and sliced through the Hollow’s mask horizontally, then jumped again and sliced vertically. The Hollow roared in pain before vanishing. The Soul Reaper didn’t stick around long enough for Ichigo to snap out of his shock.

“What? Hey, Wait!”

“Ichigo!” Chiharu warned, grabbing his hand, alerting him to the people gathering around them, gaping at the destroyed sidewalk where the Hollow had been. They hadn’t seen the Hollow, of course. They just thought it had been another “explosion”.

“What was that thing?” Ichigo whispered, letting Chiharu pull him away from the scene.

“I don’t know,” she lied, “I just don’t know.”

* * *

“You  _idiot!_ ”

That night, Chiharu stood in the bathroom of Ichigo’s home, staring at her reflection in the mirror. On the sink in front of her sat the skull-topped Soul Candy dispenser. “How could you have been so careless? Keep your Soul Candy on hand at all times. It’s the first god damn lesson you were taught! Damn it!” Chiharu hung her head in shame. She could have gotten one of the most important people in her life killed today. If it weren’t for that other Soul Reaper, Ichigo would have been gone, forever.

It took Chiharu another 10 minutes to pull herself together. She slipped into Ichigo’s room, closing the door behind her quietly. He glanced over at her from where he lay on his bed.

“There you are, Haru, I was beginning to think you fell in!”

“Because that’s likely,” Chiharu replied sarcastically. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and climbed over Ichigo to rest against the wall. Ichigo didn’t even bother to sit up. He just turned on his side, placed his cheek in his hand, and looked up at her with his brown eyes.

“You saw that woman today, didn’t you? Who do you think she was?”

“I don’t know,” Chiharu lied, turning to lay down, facing Ichigo in the same position. “She felt like a ghost. But she wasn’t. She couldn’t have been. I’ve never seen a ghost like her.”

“Me either,” Ichigo agreed. He turned onto his back again, sighing in frustration. Then he gasped. A black butterfly was fluttering into his room via the open window. In the blink of an eye, the Soul Reaper was standing on Ichigo’s desk. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

She didn’t answer, simply placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. Ichigo shouted, grabbed Chiharu and used her as a shield, shouting, “Put that thing away! You’re not slicing me up!”

“Ichigo!” Chiharu protested, moving to grab the Soul Candy off the desk as the Soul Reaper jumped off.

“It’s getting closer,” she muttered, “I feel it.”

Ichigo suddenly launched himself off his bed, planting his foot in the middle of the woman’s back, sending her crashing to the ground.

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” he demanded, foot still in the air. Chiharu flipped on the light, going to stand next to Ichigo, Soul Candy hidden in her fist. “If you think you’re a burglar, you’re not a very good one. For starters, you shouldn’t talk to yourself!”

“Don’t give her tips, you idiot!”

“You kicked me!” The Soul Reaper gasped, “But I can’t be seen by ordinary humans. Are you two saying you can see me?”

“Considering that was my foot I just planted in your behind, you tell me.”

“You two were in town earlier. I remember!”

“Nothing gets past this one,” Chiharu muttered, nudging Ichigo. The Soul Reaper grabbed both of their faces in her hands, turning them back and forth.

“How very strange,” she mused, “you both look normal, but you must be defective in some way.”

“I’ll show you defective!” Ichigo growled, going to kick her again, but the Soul Reaper dodged by jumping onto his leg, then his head, knocking him to the ground.

“Who the hell are you?” Ichigo demanded, standing up again and placing Chiharu behind him.

“You really want to know? Then I’ll tell you. I’m a Soul Reaper.”

* * *

“Okay, so you’re a Soul Reaper.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“And you were sent here on a mission by something called the Soul Society.”

“Mmm.”

“To deal with Demons like the one we saw in the street today.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Which was chasing after that girl’s soul.”

“Mmm-hmm!”

“That’s all believable to me,” Ichigo sneered, before flipping the table out of his way, “ALONG WITH FLYING PIGS AND THE TOOTH FAIRY!”

“How dare you?” The Soul Reaper demanded, “Why wouldn’t you believe in Soul Reapers when you just admitted that you can see spirits?!”

“I’ve never seen or heard of Soul Reapers before, and frankly your whole story is just too incredible.”

“Ichigo,” Chiharu murmured, “she’s telling the truth.”

“Ehh?” He turned to Chiharu, eyebrows furrowing, “You can’t be telling me you believe this kid’s story!”

“Oh, I’m a kid, am I?” the Soul Reaper’s eye twitched, “Bakudo Number 1: SAI!”

Ichigo grunted as his arms folded themselves behind his back and he fell to the ground. The Soul Reaper smirked smugly at him as Chiharu went to his side, placing her hand on his back.

“I can’t move! What did you do to me?”

“Paralysis. I’ve used what’s known as a Kido on you. It’s a high level incantation only we Soul Reapers can cast. It’s useless to struggle against it, you’d just be wasting your energy. I may appear young to you but I have lived nearly 10 of your lifetimes. I would kill you on the spot if it weren’t against my orders, so you, little brat, be grateful.”

“Killing humans is against more than just your orders,” Chiharu growled, standing up. “Soul Society may have different laws, but I’m pretty sure murder is still frowned upon there.”

“Chiharu,” Ichigo murmured, “What-?”

“You will release Ichigo, now.”

“I don’t have to listen to you,” the Soul Reaper snapped, “and don’t stand there like you’re ready to fight me. You will lose.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate your opponents,” Chiharu popped a Gikongan into her mouth, and, in a flash of Spiritual pressure, she stood there in her Shihakusho, hand on the hilt of her blade, “now release him.”

“That’s impossible!” The Soul Reaper made no move to fight Chiharu, but her pretty violet eyes widened in shock. “There are no other Soul Reapers stationed here. Who are you?!”

“Chiharu Hideyoshi,” Chiharu informed, dropping her fighting stance slightly, but still resting her fingers on the hilt of her blade. She had an uneasy feeling in her gut, and it prompted her to stay on guard.

“Chiharu…You’re one of them?” Ichigo sounded betrayed, “How long? Do I even know the real you?”

“It’s not official,” Chiharu promised, “but I’ve been training with Uncle ever since my parents died.”

“You’ve been training since I’ve known you? Why?”

“Ai and Daichi Hideyoshi were dispatched to destroy a Hollow 11 years ago, but they were killed,” the Soul Reaper recalled, “and their young daughter vanished from the Soul Society, never to be seen again. I knew she would be about my age, but I never thought…How long have you been in this town?”

“Eleven years. I was four.“

“No,” The Soul Reaper shook her head, “You’re my age, 150 years old. You were 139 when you disappeared. Don’t you remember?”

Chiharu’s lips pulled down into a frown. She struggled to remember, but all she got was flashes of a beautiful blue sky and stone buildings before her mind blanked suspiciously. Furrowing her brows, she tried, instead to remember her life in Karakura. Memories of playing with Ichigo, of Tatsuki and Orihime, and Chad, of Mizuiro and Keigo filled her brain. Memories of a life well-lived. They were real memories, but something told her the flashes had been just as real.

Finally, she tried to remember the training her uncle had given her. There was nothing but blankness. Up until a few months ago, there were no memories of the years she was so sure she’d spent training, no evidence to the constant work she knew it took to achieve the level of skill she possessed. She knew she’d done the training, she  _had_  to have, otherwise she wouldn’t be a Soul Reaper, but when she thought of it, there was  _nothing_.

“ _What the fuck_?”

“Strange,” the Soul Reaper muttered, “maybe you should talk to your uncle….”

“What’s all this about Hollows?!” Ichigo demanded, deciding to interrupt the intense conversation, if only to remind the girls he was there. Chiharu took pity on her best friend.

“There are two kinds of spirits in this world. Good ones, known as Wholes, and bad ones, known as Hollows. Hollows attack people, living or dead, in order to devour their souls.”

“Mmm,” The Soul Reaper nodded, “The higher your spiritual energy, the more likely you are to get attacked. Soul Reapers have two main jobs; to lead Wholes to the Soul Society through the act of Konso, and to exercise the Hollows wherever we find them.”

“That Hollow with the bug body this afternoon. Why was it chasing that girl?!” Ichigo demanded.

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Chiharu admitted.

“We have yet to understand what motivates the Hollows to do the things they do,” The Soul Reaper explained.

A loud roaring sound made Chiharu partially unsheath her sword. She looked towards Ichigo’s window.

“What was that?” Ichigo shouted.

“One thing we know for sure is that there is a second Hollow prowling around.” The Soul Reaper continued, obviously having not heard it.

“Well what are you waiting for?! Go out and kill it!”

“I would, but I can’t seem to detect its location. Usually I have no trouble finding a Hollow that’s close by. But here my senses are jammed by some powerful force. And from the look on this ones face earlier,” the Soul Reaper nodded to Chiharu, “I’d say that was the first Hollow she’d ever seen.”

“What are you, deaf?!” Ichigo snapped. The Soul Reaper blinked.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a Hollow howling out there somewhere,” Chiharu warned, fully unsheathing her katana now.

“A Hollow? What do you-” The Hollow roared again, and this time the Soul Reaper gasped, standing up. “I hear it now,” she said, “definitely a Hollow!”

Downstairs, there was a crash, and one of Ichigo’s sisters cried out.

“That’s Yuzu!” Chiharu cried, running to the door. She flung it open, and the Soul Reaper rushed past her, stopping in the center of the hall as Yuzu came stumbling up the stairs.

“Ichigo,” Yuzu muttered, half conscious.

“Yuzu!” Ichigo gasped, struggling against the Kido, “What happened?!”

“Karin’s been- Ichigo, you have to save her!” Yuzu dropped like a stone, and Chiharu, invisible to the girl, grabbed her and brought her into Ichigo’s room and lay her on the bed.

“Chiharu, untie me!” Ichigo begged. Downstairs, Karin screamed.

“I can’t! I haven’t been taught that yet!”

“Then please! Help Karin!” He began forcing himself onto his feet.

“Right!”

Chiharu ran down the stairs, freezing when she saw Karin trapped in the Hollow’s hand. Ichigo came tumbling down the stairs behind her. He forced himself up. The Soul Reaper seemed awed.

“Stop!” she ordered, “The Kido is too strong for a human to break! If you keep trying, you’ll only cause damage to your soul.”

“What did I say about underestimating your opponents!” Chiharu asked, as the Kido around Ichigo began to falter. Ichigo gave a roar, and the Kido broke completely. Ichigo grabbed a chair and charged the Hollow before either Chiharu or the Soul Reaper could stop him.

“Wait! Ichigo!” Chiharu threw out a hand, but he was already too far from her.

“Chiharu, Ichigo! GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Karin cried. Chiharu winced as the Hollow threw Ichigo to the ground.

“I found you!” it growled, reaching for Ichigo. Chiharu jumped into action, instinct taking over. She plunged the blade of her Zanpakuto into the Hollow’s hand, at almost the exact same time the Soul Reaper put a deep slice in it’s arm. It roared and dropped Karin to the ground. Ichigo was quick to catch her as the Hollow vanished in a shimmer of darkness.

“Karin! No!”

“She’s fine,” Chiharu moved to Ichigo swiftly, Zanpakuto clattering to the ground. “Karin and Yuzu are both fine. Both their souls are intact.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” the Soul Reaper cut in, “it’s looking for a specific soul to devour; one with a higher concentration of spirit energy. In fact, the Hollow earlier was hungry for that soul too, not the girl’s!”

“But why?” Ichigo demanded.

“Normally I’d say it was the soul of a Soul Reaper that the Hollow was after, such as the Urahara girl’s, but since even I couldn’t tell she was a Soul Reaper, it isn’t likely the Hollow could tell. That leaves only you. For some reason most of your Spirit Energy was hidden deep within you until now, when you needed it to save your sisters. That’s why I couldn’t sense anything unusual about you when I arrived, and why they haven’t come after you.”

“I don’t understand…” Ichigo murmured, looking up at Chiharu. She stroked Karin’s face gently.

“I noticed the the Spirit Energy you have bottled up inside you start pouring out when you made contact with that kid’s ghost. I’ve been trying to find a way to mask it, but I couldn’t in time. They detected your soul through that girl, and they were using her to track it down.”

“Which means,” the Soul Reaper looked over her shoulder at Ichigo and Chiharu, “the Hollows are really after you.”

“Those things…want me?” Ichigo’s voice was quiet, but Chiharu could hear the horror in it. She opened her mouth to say something, when the Hollow reappeared, mouth open in a scream.

“It’s back!” The Soul Reaper held her Zanpakuto out in front of her, widening her stance. “Get out of here!”

“No!” Ichigo protested, standing up. His hands were clenched tightly at his sides, his eyes narrowed dangerously. “So the vicious attacks on that little girl were because of me? And Chiharu, too?”

“That’s one way to look at it…”

“And now my sisters could wind up dead and the whole thing is our fault?” Ichigo whipped around to glare at Chiharu. “Why the Hell wouldn’t you tell me something so important?”

“Can we have this fight some other time?” Chiharu demanded, picking Karin up and bringing her to a more sheltered area. Ichigo grunted and ran out in front of the Hollow.

“Hey, stop!” The Soul Reaper cried. Ichigo ignored her.

“Coward! Quit attacking others! If it’s my soul you want, come and get it! Fight me one on one, you ugly bastard!”

The Hollow roared and launched itself right at Ichigo. Chiharu and the Soul Reaper both moved at the same time, but the Soul Reaper, being closer, got there first. The Hollow’s teeth ripped into her shoulder. Chiharu lashed out, catching the Hollow in the neck, a shallow gash appearing there. It roared and backed away, slashing Chiharu across the back with it’s claws and leaving four long gashes.

Ichigo started at her cry of pain, and he reached out to stop her fall. The Soul Reaper was face down on the ground, bleeding and panting in pain.

“Chiharu! Hey, Chiharu!” Ichigo shook his best friend, panic rising in his voice with each syllable. He felt Chiharu’s knuckles bump gently against his forehead.

“Quit it, moron,” she grunted, “Stop jumping in like that.”

“You’re both stupid,” the Soul Reaper lifted herself painfully, “If you don’t stop interfering, we’re all going to end up as it’s food.” She crawled to the sidewalk and leaned against Ichigo’s garden wall. “Chiharu Hideyoshi and I are now too injured to fight. Do you want to save the ones you love?”

“Of course I do!” Ichigo snapped, carrying Chiharu over to the Soul Reaper, setting her gently against the wall. “If there’s a way, then tell me how!”

“It will only be temporary,” the Soul Reaper informed, “but you must become a Soul Reaper yourself.”

“What?”

The Soul Reaper took her Zanpakuto and held the point towards him. “Take my Zanpakuto and run it through the center of your being so that I may send my powers into you. I cannot guarantee that you’ll live.”

“Hell,” Chiharu’s blue eyes fixed on the Hollow as it screamed and thrashed in rage, blood pouring from the wound she’d inflicted. “If it doesn’t work, it won’t matter, will it?”

“I suppose not,” the Soul Reaper agreed.

“Then give me that blade, Soul Reaper,” Ichigo ordered, taking a step forward.

“My name is Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki.”

The Hollow began running for them. Chiharu’s eyes moved to study Ichigo’s face for what was possibly the last time. He was determined, and that made her smile.

“And my name is…” he wrapped his hands around the blade, “…Ichigo Kurosaki,” and pulled it into his stomach. A bright light erupted around them, and Chiharu had to cover her her eyes to avoid being blinded. There was a crash, and when she opened her eyes, Ichigo stood there with a shihakusho and a Zanpakuto as long as his body. The Hollow’s arm had been sliced clean off and lay twitching on the ground behind him.

Rukia was in a white robe now, her violet eyes wide with shock. Chiharu chuckled.

“Show off,” she murmured. And of course, as Ichigo charged the Hollow head on, his crippling Spiritual Pressure fluctuating, he couldn’t stop himself from showing off just a little.

“Feel the wrath of my blade!” He cried, slashing downwards. The Hollow gave a final scream, disintegrating into nothingness. Ichigo landed on the ground, resting the giant sword on his shoulder with ease.

And just like that, it was finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone knows, I'm doing the first episode of the anime, and then skipping straight to when Byakuya arrests Rukia.


	2. Chapter 2

_“You should have told me!” Ichigo shouted down at his best friend, who was using her Zanpakuto to hold herself up. Neither he nor Chiharu were paying attention to Rukia, who was still prone in the middle of the street. “I thought, after everything we’ve been through, you could trust me with anything. Turns out, you’re the one who can’t be trusted!”_

_"Ichigo, I-”_

_"Karin and Yuzu could have died!” Chiharu winced and glanced away from the enraged boy, who towered over her, like an active volcano._

  _I’m sorry,” she whispered._

_“Look, just stay away for a while, okay? I don’t even want to look at you.”_

Ichigo sighed. That had been months ago, and now, with his life so hectic with being a Substitute Soul Reaper, he hardly ever saw his best friend. He was too busy killing Hollows, saving possessed parakeets, chasing his own body around, stopping an idiot Quincy from accidentally overrunning the Town with Hollows, and protecting foolish humans left and right, that he hadn’t even had the chance to apologize to her, which he knew he really needed to do. The only time he ever saw her was when he needed her uncle’s help, and even then it wasn’t for a long time.

Everyone had been asking what had happened between them, even Chad, and it was getting on his nerves. Even more annoying, people thought it was because of his ‘relationship’ with Rukia, who had disguised herself as a transfer student. And the reason _that_ bugged him so much was because, for someone who would do anything for his friends, he’d neglected the most important friend he had because of Rukia. Chiharu Hideyoshi was a permanent fixture in his life, and he’d pretty much destroyed that.

So why was it, when he needed her most, faced with Rukia’s brother and his Lieutenant, Renji Abarai, with his life’s blood pouring out of him as he lay face down on the ground, and Byakuya about to deal a killing blow, there she was. They hadn’t even noticed her arrival until Byakuya’s seemingly invisible Zanpakuto clashed and sparked with the long, thin, black blades of four men dressed head to toe in black clothes, dark metallic masks of scowling demons covering their faces. Chiharu had her Zanpakuto unsheathed, it’s released form manifesting as an all black longsword with the head of a dragon with garnet eyes as the hilt. She peeked out from behind the strange men who’d appeared from nowhere.

“You’re Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, right?” her voice was quiet and respectful as she addressed the terrifying man who had nearly killed Ichigo. Byakuya shifted back slightly, his surprise showing in the minute tilt of his head.  _Chiharu Hideyoshi, alive and well?_   “My uncle tells me we’ve met, but I seem to have a few missing memories.” In a show of brave, and perhaps stupid boldness, Chiharu raised her eyes to meet Byakuya’s own cold ones. “I have no intention of fighting you, Captain, I know I won’t win, and I have no intention of dying tonight. I will, however, fight for Ichigo Kurosaki, if you try to kill him. I am begging you, with all the respect in the world, don’t try it.”

“He’s already dead.” Byakuya’s voice was just as cold as his eyes.

“Chiharu!” Rukia cried, and Chiharu saw her running towards where she stood over Ichigo out of the corner of her eye. “Ichigo! Oh, Ichigo!”

“Rukia!” Chiharu’s voice stalled Rukia’s advance, and gave Renji the opportunity to grab her. “You seem like you’re in an awful lot of trouble. Stop digging yourself into an early grave, would ya?”

Rukia tensed at the smile Chiharu gave her.

“H-How can you smile like that. It’s my fault Ichigo’s dead!”

Byakuya sheathed his Zanpakuto, taking note of the way Chiharu hardly relaxed. He took a few steps towards Rukia.

“Even if it will make your sentence harsher, you still feel as though you should help him? Is that what you’re saying to me?”

“I am, brother.”

“I understand, Rukia. This young man does indeed bear a striking resemblance to him.”

Rukia whimpered and looked away.

There was the sound of shifting metal, and the four men suddenly slammed their Katanas into the ground between Ichigo and Byakuya. The orange haired boy’s hand hit the metal less than a second later. He didn’t even seem to notice that his fingers had wrapped around the blade of a sword as opposed to Byakuya’s ankle.

“He’s dead, you say? Bears a striking resemblance to him? I’d rather that you quit talking to me like I’m not even here, got it?”

“Ichi-” Rukia gasped. She met Chiharu’s eyes again, and realized that she had been smiling because Ichigo was alive. The small girl smiled again and nodded, and Rukia knew what she had to do. Lowering her eyes to the ground so Ichigo wouldn’t see the truth in them, she growled out, “You are just a human. A lowly human, how _dare_ you speak to my brother like that. You _better_ learn your place!” She then looked to Byakuya, “We better leave now, brother. The words and actions of Ichigo tonight have opened my eyes to the truth. I am ready, now, take me back to the Soul Society. It is time I atone for my sins.”

“You can’t go- Ah!” Ichigo cried out as the blade of the sword was wrenched from his palm, slicing it deep.

“Shh,” Chiharu hissed.

“Wait, no! Is this some kind of a joke?” His eyes looked up to Chiharu, “You’re just going to let her leave?”

“She doesn’t belong here, Ichigo!” Chiharu’s voice had almost the same tone as Rukia’s, and Ichigo couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

“Damn it!” He groaned as he tried to push himself up.

“Don’t move!” Rukia refused to turn and look at him. “Take even one step, or try to come after me, and I’ll- I’ll...” She finally looked at him, and Ichigo was startled to find tears in her eyes. “I will never, ever forgive you. You are going to die, so why not stay put and live a few seconds after. Chiharu! Never let him follow me!” Rain began to pour from the sky, further darkening the mood.

“Hmm,” Two of the four men in front of Chiharu burst into smoke-like shadow and vanished, the other two lifting a badly wounded Uryu Ishida. Seems he, too, had attempted to stop Rukia’s arrest. Stupid. Chiharu lifted her chin at Rukia, throwing her Zanpakuto across her shoulders in a way that reminded the raven haired girl of Ichigo.

A gate suddenly opened, bright light spilling out of it, and Renji took the first steps into it, escorted by a black butterfly. Byakuya went next, and finally, Rukia. She turned back to look back at Ichigo and Chiharu, her eyes unbelievably sad. The doors of the gate closed and it vanished without a trace.

Finally, Chiharu relaxed fully. She looked down to see Ichigo almost fully unconscious. The familiar sound of wooden clogs on the wet pavement. Her uncle appeared in front of her, holding an umbrella over her and Ichigo. She glared up at him, still angry that he’d stolen her memories, her life.

“My,” he mused, handing her the umbrella, “Quite a number they did on your little friend. Think he’ll go after her?”

“Of course we’ll go after her.” Chiharu scoffed, watching her uncle lift Ichigo with little effort.

He smirked at her, “You’re going to go?”

“You ask that like it’s even up for debate.” She looked at the spot where the gate had vanished, frowning, “Rukia saved my life that night at Ichigo’s, and beyond that, she’s saved Ichigo more times than I can count. For that, I owe her. And besides that, she hasn’t lied to me or manipulated my memories for eleven years.”

“Chiharu-”

She didn’t want to hear yet another excuse. She turned around, long blonde hair whipping about. “Let’s just go.”

* * *

 

Chiharu skidded to a stop in her uncle’s underground training facility. She’d spent the last hour running around the area as a warm up, her Zanpakuto unsheathed and stuck in a rock, waiting for her to perform Jinzen.

“No way!” Her uncle’s overly dramatic voice cut through the silence of the gigantic room, drawing her attention to the ladder that led back to the shop. Ichigo stood there with Urahara, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta. “This place is amazing! Who would have guessed that all this time there was a huge subterranean training facility under my store?”

“You’re a shit actor,” Chiharu called, walking up to the group. Ichigo’s annoyed look softened when he saw her. Before he could even speak to her, her arms had looped around his waist. “I’m glad you’re alive, Ichigo.”

Just like that, Ichigo knew he was forgiven for his behavior towards her.

“Course I am,” his knuckles rapped gently on her forehead, before he put one large hand between her shoulder blades and hugged her back. “Who do you think I am?”

“Ready to get down to business?” Urahara asked, after watching Chiharu and Ichigo embrace for a moment. Ichigo sighed.

“Yeah, let’s just get on with it, this training session or whatever you call it.”

“Careful what you ask for,” Urahara jammed the end of his cane into Ichigo’s forehead, and his soul was knocked from his body, which Chiharu was quick to catch. Ichigo didn’t notice the chain that attached him to his body at first.

“What’s the big idea knocking me down like-” he took a deep breath, hunching over, as the world spun around him. “What the hell?”

“It’s hard to breathe when you’re in the form of a soul, isn’t it, Ichigo?”

“What’s going on?”

“Byakuya Kuchiki’s two attacks on you destroyed your Soul Sleep and your Soul Chain, the wellspring and booster of your spirit energy, respectively,” Chiharu informed him gently, “You’re not a Soul Reaper, anymore, you’re just a regular human soul.”

“We gotta fix that, before we proceed.” Urahara added.

“Alright already, just tell me what to do!”

“Well...” Urahara turned to the side, where Ururu was holding a skirt-full of protective gear. “Gotta fight her. Lesson one ends when one of you is no longer able to continue fighting.”

“You want me to hit a kid?” Ichigo deadpanned. Urahara smirked.

“Never underestimate your opponent.” He turned to his niece as Ururu threw the gear to Ichigo. “As for you, time for Jinzen.”

“But-” she wanted to watch Ururu beat Ichigo up.

“No buts!”

With a growl, Chiharu retrieved her Zanpakuto and found a quiet place away from the destruction to meditate.

_The world around her was dark, but she could see perfectly the pool of what looked like black water, but was actually liquid shadow, with the barren island in the center. Standing on that island was a creature that would terrify even the most fearless of warriors. Her skin was as pale as ash, red outlining her muscles. There were horns coming out of her head, curving towards her chin. Also from her head, behind her large, downward pointing ears, were a pair of wings that reminded Chiharu of spider legs. There was a rigid exoskeleton along her back, with more of the spider-like appendages, these gold as opposed to black, curving up to protect her chest as well as her rib cage, from which fire seemed to burn with an intensity that at one point hurt Chiharu’s eyes. Gold bands circled her upper arms._

_Golden eyes fixed Chiharu with a stern glare that matched the scowl on her face. When she spoke, the shadow around her island trembled. “Chiharu, we could have taken that Captain.”_

_Chiharu scoffed. “Don’t bullshit me, Kurai Ryuu.”_

_A savage grin split the Dragon-Demon’s face, sending a shiver down Chiharu’s spine. Slowly, like a monster stalking its prey, Kurai Ryuu stepped into the pool of liquid, and it separated so her foot landed on a step. Down and down she went, until she was standing at the very bottom of the pool. She rose a hand and beckoned to Chiharu._

_“Come, now, little Soul Reaper, don’t be shy.”_

_With a deep breath, Chiharu took a step forward. Just like for Kurai Ryuu, the shadows split, and she descended to join the Zanpakuto Spirit in the deep._

_“We’re going to get stronger, the two of us,” Kurai Ryuu vowed. Two Katanas shot out from the darkness and embedded themselves in the ground in front of them, and there was a brief pause as the two of them looked at each other, before they grabbed a katana each and jumped away from each other._

* * *

  _She’d been fighting Kurai Ryuu for what seemed like years, but she knew it had only been a few days, at most. It was dangerous to train like this, she knew, but this was the way Kisuke Urahara liked it; fast-paced and life threatening._

_Kurai Ryuu was just about to land a harsh blow to Chiharu’s hip with the hilt of her katana, when Chiharu’s inner world gave a rumble that made the small blonde lose her balance. Both of them lifted their heads to look at the darkness above them. A tremendous amount of pressure made Chiharu stumble again, and Kurai Ryuu had to catch her upper arm to steady her._

_“Amazing,” the Spirit breathed, “Spirit Pressure powerful enough to be felt in Jinzen? What’s going on out there?”_

_Chiharu’s face scrunched up as she recognized the Pressure, and she threw her katana down, closing her eyes._

When she opened her eyes, she couldn’t see Ichigo anywhere, but she could hear him screaming somewhere ahead of her. She ran forward, seeing Urahara, Jinta and Ururu gazing into a deep hole in the ground.

“What the hell?!” Chiharu punched her uncle in the side and peered into the hole to see Ichigo at the bottom, white Hollow-liquid trying to surround his face. She turned an accusing glare on Urahara. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”

“Relax. He’s a lot stronger than I originally gave him credit for, I’m confident in his ability to beat this. Just a little longer.”

Chiharu returned her gaze to the hole, brow creased in worry. Ichigo kept screaming, and slowly, surely, it became more animalistic.

“He’s at his absolute limit, boss!” Tessai’s voice called up. “Bakudo 99, Part 2! First incantation, bandage. Second incantation, deadbolts!”

“Hey, careful, down there, Tessai!” Jinta shouted, now just as worried as Chiharu. “If you do all that, there’s a good chance he could die!”

“I can’t hold him down any longer! He must be destroyed immediately! Right now, before he becomes a Hollow!” Tessai clapped his hands together, as though praying. “Final incantation, fatal seal.” The seal appeared at eye level with Chiharu and the kids and she gasped.

“No. Please, no,” Chiharu’s eyes began to water, her heart began to pound, and her chest began to hurt.

“This is it!”

“ **Ichigo!** ”

There was an explosion of Spiritual Energy, and Urahara grabbed Chiharu, Ururu and Jinta, covering them. Jinta gasped, watching something shoot from the column of Energy and bounce off the walls before crashing into the ground. When the Energy died down, Urahara released his kids and stood up straight.

“Carrot Top, that you?” Jinta called, “Answer me! Hey!” The dust around the figure cleared, revealing- “A Shihakusho and a mask? What is he, a Hollow or a Soul Reaper?” The figure, clearly Ichigo, took the Zanpakuto from his back, making Jinta and Ururu jump into offensive positions. “I may be small, but I’ll fight you.”

Ichigo bashed the hilt of his sword into the mask, shattering it and ripping it off, revealing his scowling face. Chiharu placed her hand on her chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“My heart can’t take this.”

Urahara laughed and began clapping. “Congratulations. It seems you went and became a Soul Reaper again. Well done. Lesson two completed.”

“Shut up,” Ichigo snarled, bashing Urahara with his sword now. He dropped like a stone and held his face, sobbing overdramatically.

“Your boyfriend hates me, Chiru!” He wailed. She rolled her eyes.

“He’s not my goddamn boyfriend, and you know it. Besides, you deserve it.”

“Chiharu,” Ichigo placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. “I swore that if I made it out of that hole, I would kill your uncle.”

“Hmm,” Urahara lowered his hands, pouting slightly, before smirking. “Perfect timing. With all of your spirit, we should be able to get you started on the next lesson right away.”

“Oh, no,” Chiharu murmured, “Not this one...

“What?” Ichigo wondered, looking between the two pale blondes, slight horror creeping onto his face.

“Oh, don’t be so discouraging, Chiharu! At least there’s no time limit!”

“At least...”

“What the hell...?”

“Knock off my hat and the lesson will be cleared.” Urahara didn’t expect Ichigo to move instantly, but he did, and if he hadn’t moved back slightly, it would have been his face with the gash in it, as opposed to the rim of his hat. “Hmm. Not bad, considering that your Zanpakuto is broken.”

“Don’t be so smug. Especially since I haven’t gotten down to business yet. Let’s get rid of the no-time-limit rule. I can end this in five minutes.”

“What?” Chiharu rounded on Ichigo. _Five minutes? I can barely manage ten!_ “Don’t get cocky, Ichigo!”

Too late. “Sounds good. Five minutes.” Slowly, Urahara drew Benihime. “And you say that’s all the time you need, right?”

“Shit,” Chiharu gathered Jinta and Ururu in her arms and pulled them back, just as the fighting began.

By fighting, she meant insults and sloppy jabs from her uncle, and lots of running from Ichigo. She knew the exact moment when Ichigo realized it wasn’t a game, though, and that was when Urahara sliced the Hollow mask right off his orange head.

“You let your guard down! You thought because I’m not a Soul Reaper, I couldn’t have a Zanpakuto. You thought I couldn’t hurt you. How naive. _Awaken_ , now, Benihime.” With the release command, the Zanpakuto in both length and width, coming to a sharp, deadly point. “I can assure you this is a real Zanpakuto. Very real.”

“A name for my Zanpakuto?” Ichigo muttered, realization overcoming his features. He’d heard Renji call a name before using his Zanpakuto as well.

“Yes, each Zanpakuto has a unique name, and this one is Benihime, the red princess. Let us show you.” Urahara held up his sword, and Tessai grabbed Ururu and dove behind a rock, just before Urahara unleashed his attack.

“Whoa!” Jinta cried, as Chiharu grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him to safety.

Urahara’s blade clashed with Ichigo’s broken one, and he grinned. “I’ll give you credit for not running away, at least, and for parrying with that broken stump. Chiru’s right, you’re a brave one. Just the same, Benihime is much too fierce to let a blade like that stop her.”

There was a shearing noise, and another chunk of Ichigo’s blade fell away. He made the smart decision and ran. From that distance, they couldn’t hear the lesson, but they could see Ichigo panicking a little every time Urahara attacked him.

“Mark my words, Tessai, if Uncle Kisuke kills my friend, I will _end_ him.” Chiharu promised. Tessai gave a bark of a laugh, because everyone present knew that Kisuke Urahara would fuck her up.

There was a sudden fluctuation in Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure, and both Ichigo and Urahara stopped moving.

“Hey, what’s up? He just stopped, and so did Ichigo.”

“Jinzen,” Chiharu replied, ruffling Jinta’s hair. “Listen closely, because Ichigo’s about to call out the name of his Zanpakuto for the first time.”

“ **Zangetsu!** ” A bright blue light, a physical manifestation of Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure, tore through the underground training room.

“Whoa! What’s going on out there?!” Jinta cried, tucked safely in the arms of Chiharu. When the light and dust cleared, he peeked out to see what had happened. Ichigo’s Zanpakuto was fully out, pointed towards Urahara, and it was absolutely amazing. “It’s not even shaped like  normal sword!”

“Well, that’s Ichigo for you...Abnormal to a ‘T’.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Mr. Urahara, but I hope you dodge this...” Ichigo muttered, raising Zangetsu. “Because I can’t control it yet!”

“ _Scream_ , Benihime!” Urahara cried, just as Ichigo let out another blast of energy. The hat went flying in the silence that followed. Urahara let out a relieved burst of air. “Whew. Good thing I protected myself with my Blood Mist Shield. Without it, I probably would have lost an arm, just now. That wasn’t very nice,” he teased, picking his nearly destroyed hat off the ground. “I do believe you killed my hat.” He dusted it off and plopped it back on his head, regardless of the large chunk missing from the brim. “I didn’t expect that, let me tell you. Ichigo, you’re one frightening kid.”

No response. Chiharu snorted in amusement, dropping down to sit next to the orange haired teen had fallen asleep sitting up, still gripping his sword. Urahara met his niece’s amused eyes and grinned.

“Lesson three, cleared.”

* * *

 

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!” Ichigo demanded, looking between Uryu Ishida, Sado “Chad” Yasutora and Orihime Inoue, who all stood in the training room of the Urahara Shop. Nobody had told him his three friends were coming with him.

“You think we can break into Soul Society, just the two of us, and live?” Chiharu asked, laughing into her hand.“You sure are a big dreamer, Ichigo. We’re going to need as much help as we can get, if we’re gonna get Rukia out of there.” A light weight landed on her shoulder, and Chiharu felt a tail wrap around her neck loosely.

“Slow on the uptake, isn’t he?” The sleek black cat mused. “Kid, don’t tell me you didn’t notice the increase in the hidden powers of these three friends of yours. There have been so many clues. You need to be more observant than that if you want to survive. While you were training with Chiharu, they were training as well, in their own way. Instead of asking stupid, meaningless questions, you ought to be thanking them.”

“Uh...” Ichigo blinked slowly, then yelped, “The freaking cat just spoke to me!”

“His name is Yoruichi, and he’s not just a cat,” Orihime scolded.

“It is hard to get used to,” Uryu admitted. Chad nodded once.

“I’m still adjusting to it, myself.”

Urahara clapped his hands a few times, gaining the group’s attention. “All right, all right, come on, everybody, all eyes over here!” He snapped and a large square, stone gate appeared out of thin air. “This is the Senkaimon, or Tunnel World Gate. I’m gonna tell you all how to successfully pass through it, but first, we need to change some things.”

He bashed the end of his cane against Ichigo’s head, then turned and hit Chiharu as well, knocking them both out of their bodies. Their bodies dropped like stones, Chad grabbing for Chiharu before she actually hit the ground, but Ichigo was left to faceplant. The orange haired Soul Reaper glared at his teacher.

“You could give me a bit of warning, you know! And why the hell isn’t Chiharu in a shihakusho?”

Chiharu looked down at herself, seeing the clothes she’d put on when she woke up this morning; a soft grey cropped t-shirt, a black circle skirt and her well-worn, black heeled combat boots. The only difference between her soul and the body in Chad’s arms, was the Zanpakuto at her hip. She shrugged.

“I’ve trained all my life out of a Shihakusho, it’s easier for me to fight like this.”

“Oh, wow!” Orihime’s eyes were wide with wonder as she looked down at Chiharu’s boots, “You can fight in those? I wouldn’t be able to even walk in them, you’re amazing, Chiharu!”

“She hardly has any flat shoes because she likes to pretend she’s not short,” Ichigo teased, grinning viciously at Chiharu when she turned to glare at him.

“Alright, listen up!” Urahara called. Everyone turned to look at him again. “Unlike normal gates, this one has a spirit particle conversion machine. As you already know, the Soul Society is a Spirit World. Unless you’re in spirit form, it’s impossible to enter. Right now, only Chiharu and Ichigo, the Soul Reapers, can cross through as spirits. The conversion machine will transform the rest of you into spirits as well.”

“So you’re saying the gate will let us pass through without extracting our souls?” Uryu asked.

“Right. Passing through the conversion machine will allow you to stay in your present forms.”

“We get it, let’s get going-Ah!” Ichigo winced when Urahara hit him with his cane, causing him to hunch over and rub his side.

“There’s a catch. The window of time that the gate can be kept open is only four minutes long.”

“But...Is that enough time?” Ichigo demanded. Urahara shook his head.

“Nope. In fact, the whole scheme is a little shaky, so four minutes is all I can give you. After that it will close and anyone left inside will be trapped in the precipice world forever.” Urahara turned to Chiharu, leaving Yoruichi to explain the rest in favor of having a private farewell with his niece. He rested his forearms on her shoulders, grinning down at her. “Be careful in there, you hear? I don’t wanna hear about how you got sliced and diced by some Soul Reaper that’s weaker than you.”

Chiharu reached up and gripped his arms, smiling at him, her anger at him pushed to the very back of her mind. She wanted this goodbye to be a pleasant one, just in case. “As if.”

“Trust in your Zanpakuto, and everything will be alright. Raise a little hell for me, too.”

“Of course.”

“I should warn you about your memories. The more time you spend in the Soul Society, the more they’ll come back.

Urahara brushed her long hair out of her face, lower lip pouting slightly. In this moment, with her eyes shining and her lips turned up in a smile, she looked just like her mother. This was the sight he committed to memory, before he pulled away from their not-embrace.

“Right. Everybody ready?” He knelt by the gate. Tessai knelt on the other side and light flashed in the center when they poured power into it. Chiharu stood behind Yoruichi, who would be the first to enter. “As soon as it opens, run in as fast as you can, got it?”

“Right,” Ichigo confirmed.

“Good luck.”

The light brightened for a split second, and then all five humans and the cat had vanished.

Urahara stood and reached out, wincing as the gate shocked him. He looked at his hand as it smoked, then turned a frown upon the Senkaimon.

“Take care of my niece, Ichigo. We’re all counting on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! Chapter 2!


	3. Chapter 3

The tunnel they were running through was devoid of light, the walls made of purple muck that was seemingly alive. Uryu glanced behind them, alarmed to see the walls closing in.

“Don’t look now but the section we just came through is collapsing on us. I’m running as fast as I can, but I don’t think we’re going to make it through.”

“We’ll make it,” Chiharu pressed, running, almost literally, on Yoruichi’s tail. 

The cat didn’t turn around as he snapped, “Quit looking behind you, and concentrate your efforts on running. If the restrictive current swallows you up, then it’s all over!”

Uryu gave a grunt as the restrictive current grabbed the back of his cape, hauling him backwards. Chiharu turned and caught the Quincy’s hands. She pulled with all her strength, but couldn’t free him.

“Damn it, Uryu, it’s got your fucking cape!”

Ichigo reached for his Zanpakuto, “I knew that stupid outfit of his was going to get him caught!”

“Hold it!” Yoruichi ordered, halting Ichigo’s movement, “The restrictive current entangles the spiritual body. If you reveal yourself using your Zanpakuto, it’ll swallow you too. Chiharu, let him go and run!"

“No way!” Chiharu grunted. She felt large hands pick her up and she found herself deposited behind Chad, who literally ripped Uryu’s cape from his back.

“Thanks for that, Chad.”

“Let’s go,” Chad hoisted Uryu over one shoulder, pushing Chiharu to make her start running again.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Uryu shouted, doing his best not to flail around so he didn’t fall, “Hey, put me down, will you, I can run on my own!” He froze, seeing the sides of the tunnel converging. “I don’t mean to bother you while you’re running, but,” a light began to shine through the muck, “ _ Something else is coming _ .” A large, train-shaped form emerged, and Uryu yelped, “Yoruichi, what is that?!”

“The Cleaner, it comes through the passage every seven days to clear it. It’s just our bad luck that today’s the day.” Seeing Ichigo about to glance back, he snapped, “Don’t look at it, it’ll only slow you down! Just keep running or it will crush you to powder! Go! Go! We’re almost to the exit!”

“We’re not going to make it!” Uryu warned. The Cleaner was almost touching his face.

“We’ll make it, we’ll make it!” Chiharu chanted, putting on a final burst of speed. Orihime looked at her friends and frowned, turning to face the Cleaner, hands at her hair-pins.

“Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily! Santen Kesshun, I reject!” The pins shined, and three beams of light turned into small beings, which formed a triangular shield. The Cleaner hit the shield, and the force of it pushed all of them out through the opening of the gate.

They landed hard in the center of a dirt road. Orihime blinked, seeing that only Chad had landed semi-correctly. Yoruichi was flat on his back, sprawled out. Uryu was face down, ass up, Chiharu had landed upside-down against a wall like she was doing a headstand, and Ichigo had landed on his back with his feet over his head. 

“Is everyone alright?” Orihime asked, watching Chiharu flip herself right side up, brushing her skirt down with a dark blush on her pale face. “Sorry, Chiharu.”

“Huh?” She blinked her blue eyes and waved the apology away, “It’s no big deal, Orihime!”

“I’m glad we made it through the gate, but I had no idea it would take such a toll on my equipment,” Uryu groaned, sitting up. He pulled a new cape out from inside his rather pompous white and blue jacket. “I wasn’t expecting to have to use my spare cape so soon.”

“Don’t tell me he brought a change of clothes!” Ichigo sighed.

“Guys, isn’t this great? We made it through the gate and everyone’s okay!” Orihime spoke up again. Yoruichi was quick to headbutt the poor girl right in the face. “My eye!”

“I told you not to use your spiritual powers in there. We’re fortunate the Cleaner only made contact with the shield area. If it had even touched any part of the six flowers themselves, we’d all be dead, now.”

“Lighten up, Yoruichi,” Chiharu suggested, helping Orihime onto her feet. “It’s only because of her that we even made it through.”

“I don’t think any of you appreciate just how serious the situation is!” The cat snapped.

“Listen,” Uryu said suddenly, cutting off Chiharu’s response, “doesn’t it seem too quiet?”

“Yeah,” Ichigo agreed, narrowing his eyes at the old-style buildings and the empty dirt streets. “Is this really the Soul Society?”

“Yes,” Yoruichi confirmed, “And the specific area we’re in is called the Rukon District. It’s where souls come to stay when they first arrive, and it’s right on the perimeter of the Seireitei where the Soul Reapers live. It’s got the biggest population of souls in Soul Society.”

“Hey, look at those buildings over there.” Ichigo pointed to the cleaner, more expensive looking buildings in the distance. “Why do they look so different?”

“Forget about that,” Yoruichi ordered.

“I bet that’s where all the Soul Reapers are!” Ichigo realized, and began running off towards the gates. “Alright, you Soul Reapers, here I come!”

“Ichigo!” Chiharu protested, running after him, “We can’t just run up there!”

There was a rumble, and then a series of loud crashing noises as walls seemed to appear from nowhere and separate the Rukon from the Seireitei. Ichigo grunted as debris rained down on him. He coughed to dispel the dust from his lungs, feeling Chiharu crash into his back. His arm came back to grab her waist to keep her from toppling over.

“Well, well,” a loud, deep voice mused, “it’s been a long time since anyone tried to pass through the Spirit Gates without a travel permit.” Ichigo felt Chiharu grab his Shihakusho, and turned to look at her over his shoulder. Her head was tilted almost all the way back, mouth dropped open in shock, eyes wide. He turned back around and gasped. The speaker was huge. Like a literal, massive giant, and he was looking right at them with narrowed eyes and a smirk. “And I don’t get many guests these days. So welcome to you, tiny children.”

At their horror struck faces, the giant let out a booming laugh. Ichigo’s shock quickly turned to annoyance.

“What the hell are you laughing at?” He took one step forward, and the giant let out a yell and pulled out an ax made to his size and slammed the end of the handle into the ground, sending more debris and dust flying. Ichigo was forced to retreat and cover Chiharu, despite knowing she could handle herself. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Chiharu nodded, gripping the hilt of her Zanpakuto tight. “How do you want to go about this, Ichigo?”

His answer was instantaneous, “I’ll take care of it, but stay close.”

“Right,” she loosened her grip on her weapon. “Well, good luck.”

“Yeah.”

“Whenever you’re ready, give it all you got, little man,” the giant said, pointing his ax at Ichigo, seeing that the pair had decided the order in which they would take him on.

Behind the pair of Soul Reapers, the rest of their group was watching with worry. 

“He’s a leviathan,” Uryu observed, “What sort of creature do you suppose he is, anyway? He’s too big to be a human.”

“He is known simply as Jidanbo. He was chosen from among the very best warriors the Soul Society has. His task is to guard the Hakuto Gate, one of four entrances that make up the Spirit Gate.”

“He’s the guard?” Uryu repeated, “If we intend to get through this gate it looks like we have no choice but to beat him.”

“That won’t be an easy task. In the 300 years Jidanbo has served at this post, countless invaders have tried, but not a single one has ever broken through the Hakuto Gate. Jidanbo has become a legend of power and strength.”

“How in the world are we meant to defeat someone like that?”

“That’s where your intelligence and creativity come in. The first thing we need to do is have a meeting to decide on a strategy. Ichigo, Chiharu, let’s start with-” The cat let out a yelp, seeing Chad and Orihime running in the direction of Chiharu and Ichigo. “No! Come back here! Have you lost your minds?”

“Hmm,” Jidanbo noticed the two running, and brought down his ax. He dragged it along the ground, causing a large wall of stone to crop up, separating the group.

“He’s not only huge,” Uryu breathed, “he’s insane!”

“You two need to work on your manners,” Jidanbo scolded, “What are you, country bumpkins, or something? We’re civilized in this city. Here are the rules; Rule number one, always wash your hands before you sit down to eat. Rule number two, don’t eat food that’s fallen on the floor. Rule three, battles in the city are always fought one-on-one. Now, there were two that came up to challenge me, but the kid with the spiky orange hair was the one who decided to continue, so he shall be my first opponent.” He jerked his head down to look at Chiharu, still on his side of the wall. “I trust you won’t break rule number three, little girl.”

Chad turned to Orihime, holding up his fist. “Orihime, I’m going to wait for the right opportunity, and then punch a big hole through this wall. As soon as it’s open, you aim Tsubaki at the big guy through the opening.”

“What was that?” Jidanbo turned around to glare at Chad, “Don’t tell me you two are still plotting schemes over there.”

“Even his ears are powerful,” Orihime muttered, and Chad’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Orihime!” Ichigo’s voice called from his side of the wall, “Chad! Are you there?”

“Ichigo!” Orihime moved closer to the wall, eyes lighting up at the sound of Ichigo’s voice. “Yes, we’re here! Is Chiharu alright?”

“Yeah! We’re still alive and kicking!”

“We’re coming to help you! Just stay right there!”

“Well, here’s the thing,” It was Chiharu speaking this time. “You guys should just stay put and let Ichigo handle this.”

“What? But this is too big a job-”

“Relax!” Chiharu leaned back against the stone, turning her head slightly to face it. “Just wait there, it’ll be just fine.”

“I refuse to do that!” Uryu snapped, as he joined Chad and Orihime. 

“You tell ‘em, Uryu!” Orihime cheered.

“Ichigo, we can’t afford to wait around. Instead of wasting time battling Jidanbo individually, we’ve gotta attack together and get past this gate.”

Ichigo frowned in confusion, coming to stand next to Chiharu. “You’re here too, Uryu?”

Chiharu covered her mouth to hide her snickering. “He’s been here this whole time, moron.”

“It’s just like you to waste time and energy on stupid comments, Ichigo!”

“Oh, shut up, you’re giving me a headache.”

“Can you defeat him, Ichigo?” Chad wondered, his voice lower than normal.

“Probably,” Ichigo replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Probably?!” Uryu screeched, pounding on the stone hard enough to send vibrations up Chiharu’s back. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you understand this is a life or death situation we’re in, here?!”

“Look, don’t worry about it, alright!” Ichigo snapped.

“How can I not worry, Ichigo?!”

“I’ll tell you an interesting little story. Remember when I was training with Mr. Hat and Clogs? He said it was going to take ten days for my Soul Reaper powers to be completely restored. But as it turned out, it only took me five days. What do you think I did with my extra five days?”

“Knowing you, probably goofing off.”

Ichigo chose to ignore the comment. “Me, Chiharu and Urahara fought the whole time, for so long, nonstop for five days and nights. It was an all out war between the three of us.”

“I see,” Uryu realized, “So you learned a bunch of new fighting techniques, right?”

“Wrong again, Uryu!” Chiharu chimed, as Ichigo walked away from her, towards Jidanbo. “We weren’t trying to teach him anything about fighting. What we wanted was for Ichigo to have tremendous strength and stamina.”

Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu’s hilt and the bandages around it’s blade unraveled. Jidanbo looked down upon him with a sneer.

“You done with your speeches, now, boy?”

“Look, pal, I never asked you to wait,” Ichigo grumbled. “So you could have attacked at any time, right?”

“So you’re a country bumpkin after all, eh? Didn’t your folks teach you any manners? When someone is polite enough to wait for you,” he began to raise his ax in the air, “you should say thank you!” He brought the ax down on Ichigo with enough force to send yet more dust and debris flying through the air, making Chiharu cover her face with her arms. Even over the wall, Chad, Orihime and Uryu needed to protect their faces from the shockwave.

“This can’t be good!” Uryu grunted.

“Huh?!” Jidanbo was shocked to see that Ichigo had blocked his strike, holding off the ax with Zangetsu as though both massive blades weighed nothing. “Who  _ are _ you, spiky head?”

“I’m no expert, but isn’t it also bad manners to attack before your opponent is ready?” Ichigo asked, eyes narrowed.

Jidanbo grumbled, then shut his eyes, before throwing back his head with a booming laugh that sent shivers down Chiharu’s spine. The air leaving the giants lungs produced a gust of wind that made Ichigo step back, his shihakusho and Chiharu’s clothes ruffled.

“He’s...laughing...” Chad observed, face pinched in worry.

“You’re gutsy, I’ll give you that, spiky head!” Jidanbo said, still grinning. “I can’t remember the last time someone was able to stop the thrust of my ax.” Chuckling, he stood to his full height, and Ichigo’s head tipped back, realizing the giant had been  _ sitting _ this whole time.

“I- You- _ what the fuck _ ?!” Chiharu’s voice was shrill as she, too, stared up at the monster of a man.

“This is going to be fun! For once I’ll be able to give it everything I have.” He looked down on Ichigo with a certain amount of respect, “Of all the intruders who have tried to get through this gate, there have only been two who were able to stop my first thrust. But that is where the story ends, because neither they nor you could ever hope to fend off my second thrust!”

The ax slammed down once more, and again, Ichigo blocked it. Jidanbo’s smile just grew wider as he pulled back for another attack. “Jidan Ten-Strike Festival! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven!” With each number, he brought his ax down on Ichigo, but nothing seemed to touch the orange haired Soul Reaper. “Uh...Seven! Eight! Twelve! Nine! Wait, I’ve never had to count this high before, but I must be at Ten by now! So, it’s time to finish this! Hyah!” He brought his ax towards Ichigo with one long sweeping motion that sliced away the top of the rock wall.

“Got him, I think. ” Jidanbo looked to see that the place Chiharu had been standing had been decimated by his swing. “Oops, I got the little girl too.”

His ears perked up as feminine giggling drifted up from within the dust cloud. As it cleared, his eyes widened upon seeing Ichigo standing there, blocking the ax, with Chiharu doubled over in laughter beside him, having flashstepped to Ichigo’s side in the brief pause between Jidanbo’s last count and final swing.

“What? How can you still be standing after that attack spikey head?!” Jidanbo wailed.

“I agree, it doesn’t seem possible,” Uryu murmured. Beside him, Orihime was overjoyed.

“But they’re still alright!”

“Chiharu,” Ichigo spoke, voice soft and low. She smiled at him.

“Fine, fine.” She flashstepped away, vanishing from Ichigo’s side and reappearing again at Chad’s. She cupped her hands around her mouth to call out to him, “Good luck!”

“Now I understand,” Chad murmured. “What Ichigo gained from his training wasn’t fighting skills, and it wasn’t strength and stamina, either.”

“Hmm?” Chiharu looked up at him, squinting her eyes to see him through the blazing of the sun above. “Yeah, that’s right. Before, with Captain Kuchiki and his Lieutenant, Ichigo was lacking experience, so he lost. Now that he’s gained that...Well...”

“Are you finished, Gatekeeper?” Ichigo called out to Jidanbo, determination written all over his face.

“He’s going to be unstoppable...” Chad breathed. Chiharu grinned proudly.

“Cuz if you are, it’s my turn, now!”

“....So powerful, it’s scary.”

“I’m not done!” Jidanbo cried, reaching into his shihakusho and pulling out another ax. “I’m not done, I just need to get more weaponry!”

“He’s got another ax!” Uryu gasped. Chiharu’s blue eyes widened and she took a step back towards Ichigo.

“My ultimate attack!” Jidanbo flexed, his entire face turning red with exertion. “Jidan Banzai Strike Festival!” He started to bring his weapons down on Ichigo, but the teens expression never changed.

“Sorry, pal, but I’m going to destroy those axes!” Ichigo turned Zangetsu so the blade was facing Jidanbo, and with a flare of his Spiritual Pressure and a grunt, Ichigo slashed. The axes shattered on impact and Jidanbo fell back onto his behind, sliding back towards the gated. Rubble and dust once more went flying through the air. Orihime activated her shield just in time to stop them from getting hit.

After finally skidding to a stop, Jidanbo sat up with a groan. His already wide eyes had widened even more, shock written all over his features..

“W-What?”

“Wow! If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it! Ichigo just sent that giant flying!”

“Of course he did, Uryu,” Chiharu had relaxed the instant the axes shattered, “Ichigo’s improvement rate is even higher than mine. He’s only been officially training for a week and he’s already at my level. I’ve been at it for eleven years.” The now familiar shock that went through her when she realized this wasn’t true made her shake her head. “Or...All my life, apparently.”

Uryu’s brows furrowed and he opened his mouth to question that, but Jidanbo took that moment to jump to his feet. The giant was grinning, obviously having the time of his life.

“Wow, you almost got me that time. I can’t believe I slipped and fell on my behind. It’s been a long time since that happened.” Jidanbo opened his eyes and noticed Ichigo’s face contorted in a confusion and disbelief. “What’s that look on your face for? You didn’t think you were the one who sent me flying backwards, did you?” He chuckled. “You should really know better than that, but it’s typical of a country bumpkin like you to believe that a Gatekeeper like me could be blown away so easily.” He brought the handles of his broken axes up, as though preparing to attack. “All I have to do is make one more swing with my mighty ax, and-”

And finally, Jidanbo noticed his weapons were broken. He groaned, hands shaking. Yoruichi smirked, leaping up to sit on one of the broken blades, which was imbedded into the ground. “It appears Jidanbo’s mighty axes have been modified, somewhat.”

Chiharu giggled, walking to Ichigo’s side, taking care to avoid the rubble around her.

“Well?” Ichigo threw Zangetsu over his shoulder carefully, and wrapped one arm around Chiharu’s shoulders when she reached him. “Are you going to say something, or just stand there?”

Jidanbo whimpered, “My axes,” huge tears appeared in his eyes. “My axes, ruined!” He sat down and began hitting the ground, wailing, “Why did you have to do it! Why did you have to...why did you-” with each impact of his fists on the ground, Chiharu and Ichigo were knocked off balance. “Why did you have to destroy my beautiful babies?! Why?!”

Chiharu and Ichigo shared a look, having a silent debate. Ichigo’s eyes narrowed and Chiharu’s head dropped as she sighed. She took a careful step forward when Jidanbo stopped pounding on the ground, and patted him on his huge head.

“It’s okay, Jidanbo,” she soothed the crying giant. “I’m sure we can get your axes fixed!”

He sniffled, fat tears still falling from his eyes as he looked to the ground.“You think so?”

“Yeah!” She gave him a grin, continuing to pat his head.

“Hey,” Ichigo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Sorry about your axes and everything, but I couldn’t let you keep swinging them at me, could I? Although I guess I could have just destroyed one of them, and let you keep the other one...My bad...”

“No, you’re not bad,” Jidanbo finally looked up, “Even though you’re my enemy, you care. Instead of thinking of only your quest, and getting through the gate, you’re actually concerned for your opponent and his axes! You even let your girlfriend within striking range just so she can comfort me! What a good person you are, my spikey headed enemy.”

“I’m not his-”

“Girlfriend?” Ichigo snorted, looking away, face mildly disgusted. “As if.”

“Ex...cuse me?” Chiharu asked, shooting him a look. Ichigo noticed her aura darken considerably, and tensed. With a nervous laugh, he waved a hand in front of his face.

“As if I could ever be good enough for someone like Chiharu.”

Chiharu rolled her eyes, then turned back to Jidanbo. “You alright, now, big guy?”

“I’m a total loser,” Jidanbo sighed. “Not only has your spikey headed leader defeated me as Gatekeeper, he’s defeated me as a man, as well. It’s been 300 years since I became the keeper of the Hakudo Gate. And in all those years, never have I lost a challenge, or allowed anyone to pass this way. I thought this day would never come, but I have been defeated.” He rubbed his tears away and sniffled one last time, before straightening himself out. “Therefore I, Jidanbo, hereby grant you passage through the Hakudo Gate.”

“Huh?” Ichigo blinked, then grinned. “Whoa, cool!”

“You’re allowing all of us to pass?” Uryu clarified, as the rest of the group joined them.

“That’s right. I was decisively defeated in battle by your leader. As a result, I have no right to stop anyone in your group.”

“What?! Who ever said  _ anything _ about Ichigo being our leader!  _ Absolutely not! _ ”

“It’s no big deal, but why are you so upset, Uryu?”

“Give it a rest, guys, will ‘ya?” Chiharu sighed, putting a hand to her head.

“So your name is Ichigo, huh, spikey head?” Jidanbo grinned, looking down on the group.

“That’s right. I’m Ichigo Kurosaki.”

“That’s a pretty cute name for someone who seems to take himself so seriously, don’t you think?” At Jidanbo’s words, Chiharu snorted and laughed out loud, unable to hold it in.

Instantly, Ichigo was enraged. “My name is not  _ cute _ ! ‘Ichi’ means number one, and ‘Go’ stands for guardian and that’s what I am!”

“Yeah whatever. You take care, now.” Jidanbo turned and placed a hand on the Gate, a contemplative look on his face. “I don’t know why you’re so determined to pass into the Seireitei, but those on the other side are all very strong.”

“We’re aware of that,” Chiharu informed. Ichigo nodded, smirking. Jidanbo looked between them, then at the rest of the group, and he nodded as well.

“As long as you think you know what you’re getting into.” He crouched and dug his fingers under the gate. “This won’t be easy, of course. It’s been closed a long time.” With much grunting, Jidanbo slowly pushed the Gate up, all the way above his head.

“Amazing!” Ichigo breathed.

“How can someone lift something so heavy?” Orihime agreed.

“Something’s wrong,” Chiharu stated, realizing Jidanbo had completely frozen. She moved to stand next to him, and when she saw the silver haired man standing on the other side, she froze too. The smile on that man’s face, paired with the barely open, slitted eyes, reminded her of a snake, or a fox, and his aura was almost bloodthirsty, but this wasn’t the reason she couldn’t move. The feeling in her chest and gut told her she knew this man.

“Hey, what’s wrong, you two? Why are you frozen like that?” He saw the man too, and narrowed his eyes. “Hm. Who is that?”

“That is none other than the Captain of Squad Three, Gin Ichimaru.”

Upon hearing the name, Chiharu recoiled as though struck, eyes rolling back into her head, and she dropped like a stone as her world went black.


End file.
